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I'm contemplating flashing my 360's DVD drive and I had a question. I have a Hitachi drive. I haven't opened the case yet to determine the exact version, but I am guessing it's a v.47 based on the manufacturing dates I'm seeing here:

If I am going to do this, I'm going to want to do everything possible to avoid being banned from Xbox Live, which means always having the latest firmware for the drive. I don't want to keep opening the case to flash the drive so I'm seriously considering getting a Blaster 360 NE. Since I have an early model Hitachi I can also flash from my computer using a USA/Sata cable, which would lead to quick and painless firmware updates. My question is once I have the Blaster 360 NE installed, do I need to also purchase an X360USB, or can I get by with just a generic USB to Sata cable like this:

I guess I don't really see what the X360USB has over just a generic cable. I'm not interested in saving the 360's HD contents to my computer. I just want a simple USB device to allow for easy firmware flashing. The X360USB is expensive and if I can do the same thing with a cheaper cable I'd rather do that. The main thing is I want to be able to install new firmware without having to open the 360 or my PC each time.